Warning: Blood, sexual jokes, mention of vomit
Akaza was sitting at a table with Kokushibo in the meeting room. "What the hell? This is who you decided should be the new Demon Moon? She's barely as powerful as the rest of us. I wouldn't mind her being an asshole if she were capable of defeating the amount of Hashira we have. Did you seriously accept her just because she gave an oath? She probably meant nothing by it," he said angrily. Kokushibo sighed. "I think she will be an easy demon to defeat if given the chance, but I hope that's not the case," he replied. Akaza wasn't very satisfied with this answer. "Well, did you tell her to stay away from…him?" he asked. Kokushibo nodded. "She's too stubborn though, so it's her funeral," he replied. Akaza seemed a little disgusted at what he said. "So that's it? You aren't going to try to protect her in case he hurts her?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Kokushibo groaned, feeling like Akaza was overreacting. "I didn't say that. I want to see how strong she says she is. I told her to prove to us that she is worthy of being one of us." he said. Akaza sighed, still looking a little displeased with Kokushibo's choice. "Well, I suppose that's quite the test, but what if she doesn't do it and loses?" he asked, crossing his arms. Kokushibo shrugged. "Then we kick her out. Simple as that." Akaza thought it was pretty reasonable, but he was still slightly concerned about Vespera since Kokushibo basically said he would leave her to deal with Dõma all by herself. Speaking of Dõma, he had just come into a corner, watching Kokushibo and Akaza as he eavesdropped on their conversation. He just grinned as he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Vespera approached the three Upper Moons with a proud smile. "Hi, guys! Talking about how great I am?" she snickered. Akaza looked at her with disdain, Kokushibo looked at her with his typical emotionless face, and Dõma was infatuated with her. She noticed their looks and smirked. "I sense some bad vibes here. Glad that I came in." she said with a chuckle. Akaza really tried his best to not let her get on his nerves. "...Yeah. Listen, we're not an ordinary group of people. You need an initiation to become one of us," Akaza said sternly. Vespera raised an eyebrow. "Initiation? But I already gave the oath," she said. This only pissed Akaza off. "An oath is only words. You must act upon your words as well. Here's this; you have to go deep into the forest near the village and bite one of the humans," he said. Vespera loved the taste of good human flesh, so she was definitely up for the challenge. She gave Akaza a determined look. "Oh, absolutely! I'll ace this!" she said. Akaza rolled his eyes. "I'll be the judge of that," he said. Vespera ran out the door, ready to embark on an adventure. Kokushibo just glared at Akaza. "When I said I wanted to test her strength, I didn't mean like that," he said. Akaza sighed. "You don't get it. Our main goal is to take down the Hashira, so it only makes sense to send her on a related mission," he replied. Kokushibo thought about it. "I suppose that makes sense…" he shrugged. After being silent for long enough, Dõma decided to chime in and wave goodbye to Vespera. "Goodbye, dear~" he chuckled. Akaza groaned and grabbed him, pulling him aside. "Get your ass over here," he grumbled.
It took a while for Vespera to come back. On the bright side, the Demon Moons finally got some peace and quiet. However, she came back, and went straight to the main three. She had blood dripping down her chin and her fangs had blood on them. "I did it! The human tasted great!" she said. Akaza and Kokushibo's eyes widened. "You…actually did it?" Kokushibo asked. She nodded confidently. "Of course! Biting a human is child's play for me. Gimme a challenge I can actually struggle with!" he chuckled. Kokushibo sighed. "What happened to dealing with Dõma?" he asked. Akaza glared at him. "You're not actually going to get her potentially sexually harassed or worse, are you?" he asked, hoping the answer was a solid no. Kokushibo gave him a look of disgust. "What the hell is wrong with you? She needs to face a strong challenge, and that is putting up with Dõma," he corrected him. Dõma chuckled. "Aw, what's wrong with me?" he asked in a teasing tone. Kokushibo turned to him with a cold look. "Everything," he replied. Dõma snickered. "Aw, someone's feeling grumpy…" he teased Kokushibo, who held back the urge to smite Dõma. Vespera was busy licking the blood off herself. "I guess I can work with that. Sounds like you guys had to pass that test too," she said. Akaza and Kokushibo sighed. "Oh, you have no idea," Akaza muttered. Vespera found this reaction amusing. "So lemme get this straight; you want me to start spending my days around that Dõma guy and deal with his creepy obsession with me?" she asked, trying to get some clarification. Kokushibo nodded his head. "Not only that, but you have to prove you are stronger than him. If he is too stubborn, you have to fight him and show your worth until he's down," he added. Dõma seemed very excited. "Oh, a battle with her? I'm getting hot just thinking about it." he said. Akaza sharply turned to him. "Please shut up," he said. Vespera raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "I can live with that," she said, knowing right then and there that she had to tolerate the most perverted and problematic Upper Moon for a while before becoming a Higher Rank. Her brain was so clouded by her own judgement that she didn't wonder if this was even allowed in the Kizuki clan. So whatever comment he makes about me, do I have to ignore or fight back? she wondered to herself. She figured that the response he'd want is sex, which she obviously wasn't going to give, so to her, any other response would be a strong response. Kokushibo then felt a little thing inside of him. He didn't want to vomit or anything, but the feeling was pretty close to that. Was it…concern? Did he not want to set Vespera up with the most dangerous and sexually open Upper Moon because he felt like he…cared about her? No, that can't be it. Kokushibo was cold and ruthless, he had never shown emotion after he turned into a demon. Yes, he was harsh with her before and basically told her that she was on her own around Dõma, but he genuinely didn't want to see her get harmed in the second Upper Moon's hands. He wanted to see her stand up for herself against him. As he zoned out, Vespera was talking to Akaza, who tried to keep his composure around how impatient and excited she seemed. "So if I complete this challenge, will I finally become a High Rank like you guys?" she asked with hope in her eyes. Akaza was annoyed by her childlike attitude, though he did find it a little endearing. He initially didn't want to have to see her deal with Dõma, but Kokushibo made a good point, so he went along with the idea. "That's our initiation," he replied calmly. Kokushibo took notice of Vespera too as soon as he snapped out of his trance. The poor girl seemed to really want to be part of the main three, but had to go through this challenge to prove her worth first. "but until then, you can't sit with us." Akaza added, smacking his hand down on the seat she was standing behind so she wouldn't sit there. Vespera was determined to not be stuck as a Lower Moon for the rest of her life. She promised her family and friends that she will become an Upper Moon, and she wasn't going to break that promise. "Oh, but I will soon. Just you wait," she said as she gave the three a determined grin. Akaza wasn't convinced as he continued to give her a serious look. "I wouldn't be so cocky if I were you. That kind of attitude could lead you to losing and being kicked out, so be humble about this, comprendo?" he said. Vespera took a bit of time to respond. "Everything except 'comprendo'," she replied. Akaza got confused by this. "Then how did you-? Ugh, never mind." he groaned.
When she left, Dõma sighed as he put his hands behind his head, laying back in his chair, still grinning. "So, you two decided to lie just to get her out of your hair? You do realize that if she actually becomes one of us, she will only be more annoying right?" he asked. Kokushibo seemed unamused by Dõma's comment. "We know she can't do it. No sane person can put up with you. She'll chicken out immediately," he explained. Akaza just sighed. "I didn't want to be part of this, but she was really annoying," he shrugged. Kokushibo nodded his head in agreement. Dõma leaned forward on the table. "Oh, I wouldn't say that. She's very determined and beautiful. I just wish she wasn't so persistent about not wanting me," he said. Kokushibo pointed to Dõma with his claw. "That's exactly what we're talking about," he said. Dõma raised an eyebrow. "What?" he asked. Kokushibo then felt his concern for Vespera rising again. Dõma seemed to genuinely think that his perverse behavior was all right. What have I done? Kokushibo thought to himself.
Meanwhile, Vespera was in her room, testing out her BDA and fighting skills. She knew the others didn't think she was strong, so she wanted to make them feel stupid for underestimating her. However, when she tried to use vines to grab a random object, the grasp didn't do very good and she ended up dropping a lamp. She sighed. "I can't believe I still suck. I can't let them know, they'll kick me out," she said to herself before turning to the door to make sure nobody heard her. She sighed and sulked in her bed. "I thought all that training paid off… was Akaza right? Am I being too cocky?" she asked herself. She felt like that was the case, but figured that if she were humble and honest about her abilities, she would be kicked out, so she felt she had to keep up the confidence so she doesn't make a fool out of herself, unaware that she would now make an even bigger fool. The main three Upper Moons were the strongest, so there's no way she could be of the highest caliber like them, especially since she didn't seem to be taking her job seriously. She then thought about her family and how they were always encouraging her- even pampering her most of the time. She was getting a taste of the real world right now, and she wasn't enjoying it. While she was crying quietly, a vine sprouted out of the floor and wiped her tears away. The water, though salty, helped it grow and the vine embraced her gently. "I don't want to be kicked out… I really need this…" she said to herself. Kokushibo had heard some of this on the other side of the door, his concern growing. It seemed she was already struggling with her abilities, and he just added insult to injury by betting that she can't deal with Dõma. At the same time, if she really did want to be part of the Demon Moons, she would have no other choice but to deal with the perverted demon, just like the rest of the Demon Moons did. He felt a tinge of sympathy for her, even if she was being a brat most of the time.